Men’s Baseball

Despite a strong effort, the boys of summer at State suffered a demoralizing loss on Thursday at the hands of 21st-ranked Minnesota. Down 6-0 in the fifth inning, the Nitts bounced back, scoring six unanswered runs to tie the game. Diaper dandy third baseman Jordan Steranka laid the lumber on the Gophers in the sixth inning, pounding his team-leading sixth home run. With this loss, PSU was eliminated from contention in the Big Ten Tournament.

Track and Field

The Track and Field team is set to compete in the Big Ten Outdoor Championships this weekend at Ohio State. Freshman Shavon Greaves, who secured two indoor titles in the winter, looks to bring home titles in the 100 and 200 M competitions, where she is the top seed. Two-time Big Ten Champ Clarence Smith is going for a third title in the long jump, where his mark of 56-6.75 leads the field by two whole feet. Senior John Vellenoweth and sophomore Kim Hanslovan were named Big Ten Athletes of the Week with their record performances in the pole vault and javelin, respectively.

After a very successful winter, Penn State has jumped 5 spots in the Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup standings. Looking for its 16th top ten finish in as many seasons of competition, the Nitts were propelled by strong finishes in fencing, gymnastics, track and field, and swimming to earn 702 points.

A special congratulations goes out to the eighty-one Penn State Student-Athlete who will earn their degree this weekend. This total marks the second-highest number of student-athletes to graduate in the spring (only to May 2008).